The Orangerie at Parterre
For both sentimental reasons (it was a surprise Christmas gift from my husband) and aesthetic reasons (it is in the middle of the garden), the Orangerie plays an outsize role… Read More
Author: Bettie Bearden Pardee
Ode to Newport
By this point in the summer, Newport would already have been a beehive of activity–from large fund raisers to music festivals to sailing regattas –and house guests galore. But this… Read More
Celebrating Summer Al Fresco
Discovering these brightly colored and small decorated umbrellas has given me countless opportunities to brighten up my al fresco summer activities (Etsy Indian parasols). Amusing as well, they are accented… Read More
Parterre’s Signature Garden Images
This “staycation” (quarantining as I prefer to call it) over the past five months provided the opportunity to capture in images many details of our Parterre garden that I would… Read More
Hydrangeas in the Newport Landscape
As of July 4th, summer is in full swing in our City by the Sea, and just like clockwork, an iconic flowering shrub, the hydrangea, comes into bloom. This presents… Read More
Parterre’s Green and White Garden
While it is the Fountain Garden that receives the most attention on posts, there is another somewhat hidden garden at Parterre that deserves its own attention, the Green and White… Read More
Designing with Roses
Surprisingly, a rose garden was not in the plans for landscaping our 3 acres at Parterre twenty-two years ago. My dear friend, and “garden whisperer,” announced that they were too… Read More
Parterre’s Rose Chain
Patience is a virtue that every gardener has learned to accept. Those dreams and visions we have that inspire design decisions, plant selections, and tree placements may take years to… Read More
Ode to the Peony
Invariably, when I ask friends their favorite flower, whether they are gardeners or not, the answer is always peonies. And, yesterday at a small lunch party, my male friend on… Read More
Breakfast Under the Pergola
Missing some much-anticipated travel this spring was offset by the sheer pleasure of being at home every day for three months. In earlier posts I’ve chronicled the glories of the… Read More